D-Block, AWS 3 Auctions Likely Delayed to 2009, Martin Says
The FCC is unlikely to reauction the 700 MHz D-block or the advanced wireless service 3 spectrum before year-end, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin conceded Friday. The distinction is important, FCC and industry sources say, since once a new president takes office Martin is unlikely to be chairman. Meanwhile, we've learned, Martin was called to the White House weeks ago to defend the free national broadband plan that’s part of the AWS 3 auction proposal.
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The FCC won’t meet a self-imposed Aug. 14 deadline, dating to last year, to finish action on an AWS 3 rulemaking, since reply comments on the rules aren’t due until Aug. 11, Martin said. Nor is the agency likely to approve D-block reauction rules in August, he said, contrary to what many observers had expected. “It’s very difficult… for us to complete either of the auctions by the end of the year,” Martin told reporters Friday.
Martin blamed other commissioners for the AWS 3 delays. “I had proposed that we [approve auction rules] in June and then I proposed that we do it in July,” he said. “A majority of commissioners wanted to seek further comment on their proposal. I think that makes it difficult.” The FCC gave commenters more time to weigh in on auction rules, but never addressed carrier requests that the FCC jointly sponsor tests of possible harmful interference from an AWS 3 for other spectrum incumbents.
“The practical feasibility of the timing was starting to be questioned,” said an industry attorney. “On the other hand, no matter who performs the auction, Martin may still set up the rules on his watch so it'll be done the way he would want it done… It doesn’t mean he'll just leave it for the next person.”
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, among those with concerns about the proposal, participated in the White House meeting, said FCC and industry sources. Also attending were key advisors to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, sources said. The Commerce Department explained its concerns in a letter not yet cleared by the White House, sources said. Martin declined at his press conference to comment on it.
Wireless carriers and CTIA continue to oppose the AWS 3 auction proposal, they said. “Interference among spectrum licensees, if not managed effectively, degrades service to consumers and, as a result, diminishes the value of wireless services and the spectrum upon which they are based,” CTIA said in an ex parte. “The Commission can craft AWS-3 rules that permit valued use of the band without imposing rules that either dictate a single business plan or unnecessarily impede the prospects for adjacent licensees in the AWS-1 band.”
Martin confirmed plans a second agenda meeting Aug. 22. The meeting may be done by phone, but also could be cancelled, he said. “I'm hopeful that we can continue to consider items throughout the month and that we wouldn’t necessarily have to have another meeting, but I do preserve that option,” he said. -- Howard Buskirk
FCC Notes…
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin still wants to tackle comprehensive intercarrier compensation reform by Nov. 5, he said in a Friday press conference. Last week, the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit gave the FCC until then to address a piece of intercarrier compensation reform, ISP-bound traffic (CD July 9 p1). The court set the date after Martin promised his agency would do a total intercarrier compensation revamp by November. Martin said he didn’t know if the agency would meet the Nov. 5 deadline. When he made the promise last May, he “was trying to give the agency an opportunity to address” comprehensive reform, he said. The ISP-bound traffic compensation issue “has been pending back and forth at the commission since I was a legal advisor to Commissioner Furchtgott-Roth,” Martin said. But if the FCC doesn’t act by Nov. 5, the court will “decide these issues for us,” he said.
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FCC commissioners will vote on an item dealing with the agency’s assessment of regulatory fees at the Aug. 1 meeting, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said Friday. “Several parties have said to us that they think we should reevaluate generically our regulatory fee structure,” Martin said. The item includes a general notice asking if the FCC should adjust its fees for submarine cable and other industries, he said. In June, Level 3 and four other submarine cable operators urged the FCC to create a new regulatory category for submarine cable systems (CD June 3 p7), cut out from the existing international bearer circuit category.
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FCC Chairman Kevin Martin doesn’t expect to bring the agency rulemaking on broadcast localism to a close in August, he said. “I don’t anticipate that’s anything we would see at the two August meetings,” he said. Nothing has been drafted on his wholesale a la carte proposal, he said.